“Jason Morel, a sophomore from the East Village, told police he brought the .38 caliber handgun to the Leadership and Public Service High School, at 90 Trinity Place, on the morning of Sept. 19 because he wanted to show it off to friends, sources said.” So where, according to dnainfo.com, did the lad show off his cool new toy to his friends? In the bathroom, naturally. He assumed it was empty, pointed it at a urinal and pulled the trigger. Guess what happened next . . .
Students and school officials heard the boom and initially thought it was fireworks — until a school safety officer found a shell casing on the bathroom floor a few hours later and told the school to call the police, sources said.
Guess the shattered porcelain wasn’t much of a clue.
After speaking to students and reviewing video surveillance, police arrested Morel in Gramercy Park that afternoon and charged him with criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment, treating him as an adult, according to the criminal complaint.
But mom says he’s such a good boy!
Morel told his mother he picked up the gun after he saw two men toss it in a trash can, and then he put it in his backpack and brought it to school, Cherrez, 48, said. “He’s not a troublemaker. He’s a good kid,” she said. “This is just something stupid. He said, ‘I didn’t know it would go off,’ Thank God he didn’t hurt himself or no one else.”
She said her family was rattled by the incident, but she hopes Morel can now get back to focusing on his studies.
Yeah, we’re sure he’ll be able to focus on his studies real hard on Riker’s Island. New York’s famous for the leniency it shows anyone caught illegally carrying a heater. Especially in schools. We’ll be sending Jason an IGOTD trophy and hope it helps him further his gunhandling eduction. Somehow. Some day.